Sincerely Yours
by lackofname
Summary: Ownership is a strange thing. Especially when it takes everything the 'possession' has to convince the owner that really, he is sincerely his. RikuSora, side AkuRoku. Rated M for sexuality.
1. I Don't Date

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I have plenty of AMVs, courtesy of Youtube, and I now have an Axel plushie due to the most awesome friends EVER…but no rights, sadly…

Don't panic!

Forest Creatures is still running. I just couldn't resist the inspiration for this one…why am I writing two stories at once, though, seriously? I must be insane.

Oh well! Hope you enjoy.

* * *

If someone – anyone – had given me some advance warning that my life would drastically change in a twenty-four hour span…no, less than that, within a _single instant_, I probably would have laughed. Or assumed the worst. I'm a worrier – it the type of thing I do, you see.

After jumping from terrorising conclusion to the next, if that person were to have calmed me down and tell me that no, it wouldn't be really a _bad_ change, I'd still be sceptical. Probably more than a little curious, too.

It really wasn't a 'bad' change. Just…different. And possibly illegal. If not, outlawed…but I honestly don't think any authorities would believe me. That was a little strange, after all…what kind of criminal turns himself in, when the victim is just so…

Um. I'm getting ahead of myself. I tend to do that a lot, as my brother will so-eagerly tell you at the drop of a hat. Roxas seems to like making fun of me. A national pastime, he calls it.

It's a wonder why I still love my twin…

And now I'm getting off topic. See, I warned you…I really do that pretty often. I'm just that kind of guy. Any of my friends are quick to tell anyone else how bubbly I am…air-headed, maybe a bit slow on uptake, a terrible liar and still a bit childish…

All of those are vicious lies, by the way…

But they also say pretty nice things. Most of which I really don't deserve. Don't get me started on Kairi – the way she talks about me you'd be convinced I'm some kind of angel.

Actually…Kairi was the one who started it all.

* * *

"I have this friend I want you to meet."

Those words would alter the entire course of my life. Head cocking a bit to the side, chestnut spikes grazing my shoulder as I did so, my lower lip stuck out a bit as my brow furrowed cautiously – a habitual expression when I was suspicious. And I had reason to be.

When locking eyes with the sweet-faced devil known as Kairi Uchida, her longish garnet hair curling around her smiling heart-shaped face, violet-tinted eyes wide and innocent, one has to be on guard.

Seeing as the two of us had been friends since, oh, say…exiting the womb, I knew which expressions meant I was in mortal danger, and which ones were 'looking out for my best interests.' Strangely, the latter always turned out more potentially lethal.

"Friend?" I repeated cautiously, gathering up my books clumsily in my arms – they just didn't seem to want to stick around, making desperate attempts at suicide plunges to the floor. "What kind of friend?"

"He's in university," her eyes practically twinkled. That was another thing about Kairi – she liked 'mature' men, and never seemed capable of directing a glance at the many young hopefuls at our own school. Not that I couldn't understand that; aside from our tiny clique, I really couldn't stand many of the people around Radiant Gardens High School.

I've never been a big fan of teenagers. By the end of one sunny, dragging semester, I would be off, though…graduated at long last.

Kairi was still chatting amiably – it was always hard not to listen to her. It wasn't in an irritating way, don't get me wrong…she was just very easy to take notice of. When she spoke, she caught attention and usually held it. "I really think you'll like him, Sora. He seems like just the best _guy_ friend. He's competitive, like you, and athletic, like you, and smart, like…well, sort of like you…"

I glared. Or attempted to, with devastating results. Kairi squealed and practically leapt at me, arms wrapping around just my head. "Aw, you're so cute when you try to glare!"

Sadly, that was a usual reaction. And not just from Kairi.

"Anyway," she continued as she released her possibly crushing grip on my cranium. I was relieved – I didn't want it to implode or something. It was possible that she could have shattered my skull and punctured my brain or something. "He's a bit _coarse_, but he's really nice enough. You can tell from the way he treats total strangers. He's really _good_ at everything, too – he cooks, he cleans, he repairs things…really multitalented. His roommate at HBU practically can't get by without him."

So he was local. Hollow Bastion University was the nearest one to the city…not surprising, if he was an acquaintance of Kairi's, and a recent one. I figured I would have heard about this multitalented wonder-man if she had known him any earlier.

"So…"

Here came the bomb. I could tell because her eyes got just a little bit wider and she tilted her head _just so_ to the side.

"I want a double date! Is that okay?"

Sighing a bit, I finally managed to wrangle my lock into place, closing off the near-vacuum-sealed locker shut. "Kairi, I don't _do_ dates…"

"Ah, but it's not technically a date of any kind!" Kairi held up a finger, as if making a life-altering point that would change my entire perspective of life itself. "It's me, you, Riku, and probably Namine all hanging out together. I couldn't even tell you who's dating who. You know I'd ask Roxas, but he already claimed extra shifts at work, so…"

Damn Roxas. Damn him to the deepest pit of whatever dark place existed after death. 'Hell' seemed a little harsh, since he was still my brother, but even so.

I would get my own revenge. I would ensure that he was out of our shared apartment by the time this not-date rolled around and into his tacky pizza-delivery uniform. Extra shifts would do him good, anyway. We desperately needed the added finances.

Sighing, my shoulders slumped slightly. There never was much point in arguing…and besides that, I was a pushover and I _knew_ it. "When?"

Kairi giggled, obviously delighted in my acquiescence. "Oh…five o'clock tonight."

The books spilled out of my arms.

* * *

"I thought you didn't date."

"I _don't_," I mumbled, tossing out yet another reject from my closet onto the floor. "You could be of some help, though. You stuck me in this mess."

Cerulean eyes identical to my own narrowed into a smirk, but it was the only part of him that shifted – otherwise, his near-neutral expression remained devoid of emotion, lips tilted just barely into a smile. I generally preferred that expression to any other, simply because usually if it wasn't _that_, he was angry. Or annoyed. Or vexed. Or any variation thereof. Roxas wasn't a very happy person, not normally…a lot of people take it personally, but I'm used to it. I value the times where he's upbeat a lot more because of it.

He's just stressed. He wouldn't be as much, if I had a job, too…but the difference between us is that he can hold down an over eighty average in high school without studying. I barely scrape sixties.

Roxas insists I concentrate on academics before I even consider a job.

"You could have turned her down," Roxas shrugged slightly, hands running gingerly through flaxen spikes as he straightened his uniform – tacky. The orange really brought out his blue eyes, making their glare all the more fierce, but still shapeless and a little less than comfortable. I maintained that they had deliberately given my twin pants a size too small.

"I could not," I sighed miserably, maybe only pouring on the drama a little thick. "She's impossible to say no to…"

And she had blackmail pictures of me dating back all the way to two years old. I still don't know how she had kept them for so long. Actually, I wasn't sure how she'd even taken them in the first place – a two-year-old Kairi wandering around with a camera wasn't too strange an image, but the idea of her somehow knowing what would be excellent blackmail for years later was a bit disconcerting.

"Good luck, then," Roxas snorted, the lack of sympathy truly touching my heart. "At least it's only Kairi and Namine. If it were Selphie, she'd be all over you…the worst those two do is coo over you and treat you like a little brother."

That was nearly as bad. Apparently, my expression displayed just that, and my twin sniggered at my plight. "Maybe they'll both be fawning over this university guy, so you'll be basically left alone and you can do things your way."

Pay for myself, decide for myself…those were good options. I've never been really the type who liked sitting back and allowing everyone to do everything for me…

"I'd better go," he rolled his eyes slightly. "Pizzas to deliver and all that. Don't stay out there too late having a wild time without me."

The sarcasm dripped nearly so much that I worried it would leave stains on the carpet.

Going as casual as possible, I spent the next fifteen minutes picking and choosing how to appear just that casual. You know, like I had put no thought whatsoever into what I was wearing or what I looked like.

I'm a bit self-conscious.

Given the warm weather, still sunny and dry – it wouldn't get dark until perhaps eight o'clock, and I hoped it wouldn't take that long – I chose black shorts, loose and baggy and falling a bit past my knees, the simplest white shirt I could find, and a black hooded sweater for later. It got strangely cold once the sun started to set.

I hadn't imagined I'd feel so underdressed when I arrived.

It was ridiculous to feel that way. No one was wearing anything out of the norm – Kairi in her pink denim skirt and fitted t-shirt, Namine in her simple white dress…

And _him_. Just looking at him should have been the tip-off. Some kind of sign that no, when I woke up tomorrow my life would _not_ in fact be exactly the same as every other day I woke up to.

The sun caught strands of silken silver in ways that made it shimmer like diamonds. I had to wonder if it was real hair, and not just strands upon strands of closely compact crystals…with the slight breeze, though, making the long tresses fan out over his broad shoulders, I knew that wasn't the case. I almost couldn't see his eyes through his bangs – and hey, I almost didn't want to. His hair could be wherever it wanted, and block whatever it seemed to from sight…it was dazzling.

But his eyes were just as hypnotising. There had to be some kind of gemstone that could match them…too blue to be green and vice versa, they were a magnificent shade, a deep turquoise.

I'd read somewhere that turquoise symbolised ecstasy. I think it was Feng Shui.

What was more, he was tanned, built, and well-dressed in a zipped-up white vest, only done halfway up his muscular chest with a silver chain around his neck (both of which made his…well, actually, every feature more defined) and long, dark blue jeans that made him seem even taller.

He was taller than I was, easily. And older.

Okay, that was obvious, he was in _university_…

"Sora!" Kairi perked up, waving me over with one hand on a tanned, toned bicep. "This is Riku! Riku, Sora."

Just great. When he smiled, he displayed a dazzling white smile – why was he so perfect? I was going to feel completely inadequate around this guy.

Were all university guys like this? Maybe I needed to consider college instead…

"I've heard a _lot_ about you," Riku's voice was smooth, rhythmic. If Kairi's voice was attention-getting, his was enough to stop a room full of people and get them staring. If his appearance wasn't enough to do that.

Hold it.

I guess this is a prime opportunity to point it out. I have always been a firm believer in appreciation. I, for instance, can admit that Kairi is a very attractive girl and still have no desire to touch her in any way that isn't a nice, comfortable, above-the-waist hug.

Girls do it all the time. So it was alright for guys to admit that another guy had a lot of assets. Riku was good looking. If that was, in fact, his car parked behind them, he was wealthy – I was no expert on cars, but the sleek ocean-blue convertible looked fast, new, and expensive. And as Kairi had already seen fit to tell me, he was multitalented.

So I could admit that he was _really_ a good catch. I almost envied whichever girl was currently 'dating' him, unsure if it was Kairi or Namine.

Not that I actually felt any kind of jealousy…not over _Riku_…just that they had snagged someone so…

Well, if there was anyone like him – any girl – she'd be disgustingly out of my league, but I'd be damned if I wouldn't hope and pine like crazy. I was only a teenage male, what was I supposed to think?

Back to the moment, my expression had become taken aback. "What have you heard?"

Riku laughed. No doubt my guarded and wary tone had tipped him off as to just how much I trusted my now-angelic looking friend. "Nothing bad," he assured me, before his grin turn wry. "Or at least, nothing _untrue_…"

"You can't judge me, you just met me," I accused, and he laughed again. Such an entrancing sound.

…What? Like I said, _appreciation_. Nothing more than that.

I kept _appreciating_ him throughout the night. It was nothing overly eventful, though I found out that yes, I was right; Riku was the owner of the car. Went to a movie, were kicked out halfway through for talking too loudly. Went to a restaurant, were treated especially well since every waitress seemed to be willing to bend over backwards for Riku. Probably literally, though maybe not backwards. None of us were oblivious to the looks and phone numbers were kept receiving, one slipped in with our separate bills. Riku was very reserved about it, which surprised me – any other guy I knew would have taken some advantage of it all. Or at least flirted back a little.

Maybe that was just a high school boy thing…

Dinner ended just when I wanted it to. Around eight o'clock – perhaps just a little bit after – Kairi declared that we were done for the evening. I hadn't expected that from her…I'd been convinced she would drag this on for as long as possible.

I should have been suspicious. At the time, I was grateful that Kairi seemed to have seen the light against this whole 'dating' thing, even if it was a group date. Or double date, where no one was sure who was going out with who.

Actually, I later realised that later, it _had_ been a date, between two people, with two not-so-inconspicuous spies. There I go, getting ahead of myself, yet again…

When I got home that night, Riku having very considerately dropped me off outside my apartment building – last, he'd taken the girls home first – I had stumbled up to my room, taken one look at the clock, and crashed on my bed.

I wasn't even all that tired. I became really aware again at around ten o'clock later that night, when Roxas had come home, disgruntled and worn out. Tips must have been bad that night.

"How'd the date go?" he'd questioned, rather uncaringly.

"Not much to talk about."

I'd thought it was true. I didn't think anything extraordinary had happened.

So you can really only imagine my surprise in the morning, answering the door to find Riku, devastatingly gorgeous in his masculine way and carrying a single, overlarge black suitcase, wearing a broad smile and claiming he was going to live with me.


	2. I Don't Dream

Disclaimer: Don't own…I know, what a shock, right? However, I have a yaoi paddle, and I figure I can beat them into submission. I'll get them, I swear it…

This is so weird for me…writing a story that doesn't involve someone dying…or potentially dying…even in my parody stories, someone dies! Let's see how I do with this…

People who alert or favourite without reviewing hurt my heart.

* * *

The reason for being seated across from Kairi with an utterly stricken look on my face had everything to do with that morning. That morning had caused a string of events to occur over the course of the day that are not my usual behaviour, I promise you. Normally, I don't yell at my best friend, and normally, I pay complete and absolute attention to my hardworking professors trying to stuff my brain with their useless trivia.

I'd let Riku in, more out of shock to see him than anything else. I think part of me comprehended that whatever was going on was strange and private, hence my paranoia over Roxas suddenly walking into the open-area living room and seeing the modern equivalent of a Greek god in our apartment.

He set his case down, which I then recognised to be small luggage rather than a large briefcase. That put my guard up, but not as much as it should have; _why_ he would have luggage with him didn't occur to me.

I wouldn't have guessed he wanted to move in, anyway. After seeing his car, I'd made the assumption that he owned expensive things, and a lot of them. Maybe that wasn't a correct thing to do, but I'd already done it.

"Where shall I sleep?"

I stared at him, the complete lack of comprehension on my face likely making me gape like a fish out of water.

"Huh?"

Not the best knack for snappy comebacks.

Riku only smiled patiently, momentarily winding me – I claimed it was my surprise that he hadn't treated me like an idiot for not just naturally coming to conclusions; Roxas would incessantly insist I was busy 'appreciating' him again – and sat down on the wide loveseat.

"Here will be fine," he mused. "Unless you'd like me to stay in your room…"

Okay, panic time.

"What are you talking about?"

Then there were _those words_. The ones that haunted me that entire day and far beyond that…

"I only wish to serve you, Master."

He had said it so casually, with such a casually bright grin, it took a second for me to process a few things. My mind seemed to work backwards from there, spiralling into retrograde. I needed a moment.

Riku, the multitalented perfect university student with a wad of cash and a fancy car, had just referred to me as 'Master'. There was an unfamiliar lurch in a place lower than my gut, but I didn't dwell on it. I was a little preoccupied.

The perfect university student with numerous talents, known as Riku, just claimed that he 'wished to serve me'. Like something out of a romance movie set in the late eighteen hundreds, or perhaps in Ancient Egypt, the days of forbidden love between a man and his slave.

No, Riku wasn't my _slave_. Riku wasn't a servant. I just had no idea what he was saying or what was going on. I'd somehow misinterpreted what he'd said, surely that was all.

Riku had mentioned sleeping in my room. And was on my couch. After entering my living room. Once I'd let him inside from standing _at my door_.

This was a lot to process.

"I-I'm sorry," I half-choked on the words, sounding a bit dazed. "You…what?"

Riku's expression changed slightly, still amiable and smiling, but somehow a bit more…intent on my face, admiring. The adoration lining his work-of-art features was stunning…

As in, hit-me-over-the-head stunning.

"Was I not clear, Master?" his tone was so fluid and musical I almost just fazed out just to sink into his voice.

"I am your slave."

Okay, no misinterpreting _that_.

Practically toppling over backwards – I don't know what I tripped on, it may have been my own feet – my widened eyes just stared at Riku, utterly shocked.

"Sl…sla…"

"Slave, Master," Riku supplied, standing and shifting his position into kneeling by me – _kneeling_ – and helping me up carefully.

"Are you alright?"

I was alright. In shock, but alright.

As the day wore on, I became a little less alright all the time. Riku had remained at the apartment – I'd given Roxas the half-baked excuse that he had been kicked out by his roommate and needed a place to stay for a little while – while I had gone on to school, to dwell on my unorthodox morning.

Which brings us to me losing my head, sitting across from Kairi at a cafeteria lunch table as far and secluded in the corner as I could manage.

"You set me up?"

Kairi merrily sipped at her soda through a long straw. The true picture of innocence. It would have been so much more convincing if she hadn't all but confessed herself a split second ago.

"I'd be flattered," she smiled winningly. "He left his apartment, got rid of his car, quit university…you're his life now."

"I don't want to be someone's life!" I protested, horrified. I hadn't quite realised the extent of how serious this was. Riku had quit university? Sold his things? Just _walked out_ on his roommate?

And for what – to be _my slave?_

"This is illegal," I groaned. "And immoral. And…"

And a whole bunch of other words that started with 'i-', no doubt.

"I met him through an ad," Kairi said thoughtfully. "He was advertising for an owner…which I thought was weird, of course. I thought it was a misprint, and that he wanted an owner for his pet or something…and, well, you know how I am with animals."

Kairi had six cats, two dogs, a tank full of various fish, three hamsters, one cockatiel, and a rabbit. That really didn't excuse her in any way.

"So I contacted him, and we really hit it off. He seemed like just the _greatest_ guy, and when he explained his situation, I immediately thought of you!"

It took me several attempts to speak. When I did, it was rather embarrassing, a weak, whiny squeak forming at the back of my throat in a half-formed attempt at words.

"Why me?"

"You're just so nice to everyone, Sora!" her eyes sparkled in their characteristic way, gaining sympathy. I never liked getting sympathy. "You and Roxas have such a hard time on your own in that little apartment, and besides, I just _know_ you're lonely."

Admittedly, I was the type of guy who liked to have someone around at all times. I get fidgety when I'm alone. That didn't mean I wanted a slave.

"Pets aren't allowed in your apartment, and an animal couldn't do what a person could for you – like I told you, Riku does _everything_. He's really neat and organised, he cooks like a kitchen god…"

What was a kitchen god supposed to be? In all types of mythology I'd ever heard of, there had never once been mentioned a deity pertaining to the kitchen.

"He's smart, so he could help you with your grades," she kept going, a prompting edge to her tone. "He was majoring in four different fields, Sora. English, math, psychology, and biology – I'll bet you anything he'd make an amazing tutor. And he doesn't ask for much of anything, I couldn't think of anyone better to take care of you!"

What was I, an infant? I sighed, hopelessly, trying to comprehend exactly how the female mind worked to make this into a good idea. "Kairi…you sent me a _slave_. These aren't medieval times!"

"If you aren't comfortable with calling him that, you could call him an unpaid servant."

That wasn't helping.

"The date last night was sort of like a job interview…Riku wanted someone _normal_, of course," she continued on as though my jaw had not spontaneously de-hinged and was dragging down along the tabletop. "And Namine really wanted to see what he was like, since he would also be living with Roxas if he chose you, and you know that she can get a bit protective of him. They would be such a cute couple, if they weren't so brother-sister."

Riku wanted someone normal? Yes, because there was something so normal about showing up at a stranger's door swearing servitude.

Why would anyone _want_ to be a sl - …an unpaid servant, anyway?

To my chagrin, I found that did help a bit, calling him that instead of the unreal 's' word. You know the one. Starts with 's', ends with 'lave'.

"Sora? Are you okay?"

Kairi had set down her soda, starting to look concerned and carefully waving a few dainty fingers across my eyes, catching my attention. She wasn't used to being ignored, or spaced out on. Admittedly, were this not such an unusual situation, I wouldn't have been.

"Okay," I repeated, voice roughly an octave higher than normal. Damn, that was getting really embarrassing really fast. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm…I'm okay. Just…slave. I have a slave."

The beat that passed was utterly silent. Like that instant before a storm hits. Only, what happened then was less like a storm and more like a volcanic eruption.

"How could you _do_ this to me?"

I didn't often raise my voice, and even as I did so, it gained a tinny edge that made me sound a bit more girlish than I would have liked to admit. Kairi looked taken aback, even a bit hurt. People just didn't yell at Kairi. Especially her best friend.

But I also assumed my best friend would consult me before, say, directing a wannabe unpaid servant in my direction to alter my life. This was completely _wrong_.

No one could tell me that Riku actually _wanted_ to be a-… I mean, who chose that for themselves? He had all the potential in the world, and I was supposed to believe that he tossed it aside to do whatever I told him to do? How much more surreal could this get?

This made so little sense it was ridiculous. It was more likely that I was still dreaming. However, I would have figured that if I were asleep, I would have reacted a little better…Kairi wouldn't have needed to explain it over lunch…my first period teacher would have been wearing a dress again, as he commonly did during my school dreams (I still couldn't look at Mr. Strife the same way) and Riku would have shown up in less clothing.

Scratch that last one. I didn't think that.

The typical dream indications just weren't all there. On top of that, I had slammed my hand down on the table when I'd yelled, and smacked it rather hard against the corner of my lunch tray. Apart from the half-eaten remnants of my lunch spilled across the table, the slight throb in my hand was indicative that no, I wasn't dreaming.

My freak-out was also getting far too much attention, and I was pretty sure that my subconscious wasn't cruel enough to do that to me. Cruel, yes, but I was deathly shy when it came to just being stared at. I sunk down on the bench, cheeks starting to heat up, and voice lowering to a still-shrill hiss.

"This is so wrong! How could you think this was _okay?_ Are you crazy?"

The garnet-haired girl frowned, affronted. "Are _you?_ Most people would love to have someone to just do things for them, give them time on their own…and they would _kill_ for it to be someone like Riku."

Someone gorgeous?

"He's so good at everything he does, and he's really nice. Plus, he volunteered _himself._"

Oh. Not someone gorgeous.

"Besides that, he's hot. They don't have models who look anywhere near as good as he does."

Oh. Prove me wrong again, then, Kairi, I don't mind. Really.

Rather than argue the typical male standpoint as many would have – that being, I'm not _that way_ inclined – I held steadfast to my first point.

"This is _illegal_."

Violet-hued eyes rolled in exasperation. "Hardly, it's like a living trade-off. Riku does whatever you want him to, and in return you put a roof over his head, let him have food and a place to sleep…"

"Isn't he rich?" I shot at her. "He can have those things without me getting involved."

"But that's his business," she retorted. "It's still a trade-off. And even if they try to turn it into something for the law to deal with, I'll bet you anything that he'd be fighting to stay. He wouldn't put you in jail – you're the only one who would see that side of it, and I don't really think you want to go to jail."

I paled. I knew what they did to guys like me in that kind of place.

And there was the whole lack of future and leaving my career options in ruin, but my teenage priorities were more along the lines of 'I don't want to get raped and beaten', aside from, 'Oh no, my possible future financial status!'

Personally, I think that's not just a teenage thing.

Sighing uncomfortably, I couldn't argue anymore. I would have, don't get me wrong, but the bell had clanged deafeningly, and Kairi had skipped off with her lunch tray in hands, leaving me to trudge, alone, to my World Issues class.

A fascinating class. No, really, I mean it. But it's awfully hard to concentrate when you have so much on your mind.

I'll take another moment to pause here, fill in some things about me. For one, when I'm swamped, my mind works to de-stress me via avoidance.

Okay, so it's not a good way for my brain to operate, but it's just the way things are. Rather than pay attention to my class, since I didn't think I had it in me, and rather than dwell on everything _wrong_ with my situation, my mind landed on the closest related topic that wasn't possibly too dangerous.

That would be Riku himself, which leads to my next point.

I'm not gay.

I may not be _straight_, exactly…but to tell the truth, I've never given it very much thought. You see, I'm a seventeen year old male. I'm no stranger to hormones…and going back to that little interlude on dreams, I've had my fair share of…_interesting_ ones.

My co-star in those, though, is always pretty ambiguous. I've never dreamt about one person in particular, and definitely no one I _know_. The things I would do – or they would do to me – always remained pretty gender-neutral, too…hands and mouths were body parts pertaining to both sexes, so it was difficult to tell.

I'd never thought about it, either. I'd just wake up a little less than satisfied, hop into a cold shower, and be on my merry little way.

With the facts now on the table, my mind began to wander as Mr. Highwind began talking about something or other about cultural prejudice in the east. And it wandered towards Riku, finding ways of serving me in my bed, where he apparently needed to sleep.

Neither of us were sleeping.

Dream-Sora shifted under his hands, moaning huskily in a tone that wasn't very much like my own. I could feel the fire under his palms, hands slightly roughened by work caressing with gentleness; he was so cautious, so careful not to displease me.

He knew he would be punished if he did.

Not satisfied with only being shirtless, dream-Sora gave Riku a smouldering look, full of meaning. My slave was already stripped, gleaming muscles already coated in a fine sheen of sweat from the simple exertion of keeping himself restrained. He wanted me, I could tell…but he was going to have to wait. It was my patience against his.

It was waning thin already as slowly – too slowly – coarse denim slipped down thighs, the material easing away and feeling so good when it was gone. Riku's lips preoccupied themselves with worshipping kisses along every bit of newly exposed flesh; dream-Sora couldn't help quivering under his ministrations.

Only barely registering it, the command was hushed – it all had to be stripped away. I had never felt so eager to be bare in front of another person in my life, one hand fisted in silver hair. It was smooth, as fine as spun silk and cool to the touch…like muslin, so tear-able in its softness.

It didn't tear, though, not as the hand tugged Riku forward, forcing his head back slightly, tone becoming just as much a plea as it was a command.

"Suck…"

He obeyed. It was expected that he would obey. Nothing compared to the feeling of moist lips, and only lips, devouring at the tip of my length – the beckoning heat of his mouth seemed all the more appealing, since every area not being touched felt too cold – and I didn't let him go slow. I was sheathed, and his sinful tongue was doing miraculous things…

Perhaps dream-Sora could have kept silent were that all he did. But his other hand had slipped down, from my lower back to softer, fuller flesh, one finger starting to circle my entrance –

I moaned.

"_Sora Hikari_."

Oh god. Well, this was embarrassing. Cid's unimpressed steely eyes glared at me, my classmates snickered with a complete lack of subtlety, and I nearly groaned again…this time, out of mortification.

Nothing was going to be normal from that point on.


	3. I Don't Deliberate

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Kingdom Hearts. Or Sora's point of view…it's just being borrowed for a while…

In my shameless way, I urge anyone who is reading this and hasn't read my other story, The Forest Creatures, to do so. I'm looking for opinions on whether or not it's publishable, and for an alternate title. Really, that's just the working title…but I haven't been able to come up with anything better.

To more important matters. I haven't had a laptop since…um, summer. So I'm very, very sorry for the delay!

Review me, everyone! It makes me happy, and a happy author is an author more likely to skip right to the M rated goodness.

* * *

Considering that a pair of teenage boys shared a cramped living space – boys who get twenty percent off pizza and thus have yet-to-be-recycled boxes stacked and strewn everywhere – I always thought we were fairly neat. Things were relatively decent…in that I could find the TV remote like a homing pigeon no matter what.

My views on that changed when I got home. Comparatively, the place had been a disaster, before. Now it was…

Well, picture a lawn that has suddenly had every individual blade of grass carefully manicured, each blade of grass cut to the exact same length as all the other ones, and utterly devoid of any weeds. Rather than holes being where those weeds were, though, there was just more perfect-length grass.

I gaped, dropping my bag onto the carpeted floor – had it always been such a light shade of tan? – and assessed the stranger's apartment. Clearly, I'd walked into the wrong one.

The walls had to have been washed, robin-egg blue paint seeming to _shine_, sunlight streaming through the open windows. Windows that were pretty much invisible, no streaks or marks indicating that yes, the glass was still there. Tan curtains – we had curtains? – waved from the slight breeze outside, refreshing the room. Odd, I was used to the smell of stale pizza boxes.

Said boxes weren't by the soft beige couch (had it been vacuumed? There were no crumbs…), nor by the TV. As far as I could tell, they weren't anywhere anymore.

Which meant there was no way I was in the right apartment. Strange, that my key worked on the door.

But then Riku came out of the kitchen. And I gaped even more.

Obviously, the picturesque tidy atmosphere had been his doing – Roxas and I had been at school. If Roxas skipped, he sure wouldn't clean…and I could rule out the theory that we'd had a break-in, because only the boxes were missing. Generally, as well, thieves didn't considerately vacuum, dust, and wash windows.

So how could a guy that had been cleaning all day look like _that?_

Opalescent silver was held back into a low ponytail, a few loose strands falling wispily around his face. A very handsome face, not that cleaning would alter that. His arms were exposed – _how_ was he so muscular, did he work out? – by a rather fitted white t-shirt, baggy black jeans hugging _just_ the right places.

And…the collar.

Fixed around his neck was a buckled leather collar, a silver ring hanging from the buckle and being distractingly shiny against Riku's smooth throat.

Distracting.

"Master," he greeted, seeming to automatically bow his head. Even then, he was still taller than me. It would have vaguely annoyed me, if it weren't for the fact that he was looking so…submissive.

Which made me freak out. I'm not good at dealing with people devoting themselves to me.

Besides, his nature was making my ever-so-helpful brain drag up images from that little faze-out I'd had during class.

"Eh – no! No, don't say that!" I was practically sputtering. Truly, I had to be taking him aback with my articulate and refined speech. "S-Sora."

Riku gave me an indulgent smile. "Master Sora, welcome home."

I was fairly certain my cheeks were blazing. Thank god Roxas wasn't home yet…he'd be a while. Generally, he had various sports on Fridays…so I had a bit of time before I would have to explain. Sure, there had been earlier this morning…but that conversation had gone like this:

"Hey Roxas, uh…I know there's a guy in our living room."

"I noticed that, Sora." Insert copious sarcasm encased in an indifferent drawl. "And he would be here because…?"

"He…got in a fight with his roommate, and just needs to spend some time here…"

"I want him out."

"Roxas, you have no heart!"

"We knew that, Sora. He's out by this afternoon, or I'll make you regret it."

End of conversation.

Hence my incoming panic over delivering a speech explaining the continued presence of a sexy collared man doing our cleaning.

And…our cooking. I swore I smelled _something_, and it was making my mouth water…

Neither Roxas nor I could really cook anything. Well, to be fair, I made what was possibly the best toast in our entire apartment building – a lot more than I can say for Roxas, who burns everything. Precisely the reason he remains a delivery boy instead of a cook at the pizza place. He has this weird idea that everything needs to be cooked at least fifteen degrees higher than the instructions dictate. He can't even cook things properly with the microwave – he sets it to as high as it can possibly go and nearly doubles the time it takes to cook. Our kitchen smelled like burned popcorn for two weeks, once, and I was put off the stuff for a month – it looked like it had blackened and _curdled_. Like year-old milk.

I couldn't drink milk for a while afterwards, too.

But I digress. Again. I seriously need to stop doing that.

Where was I? Making the point about how absolutely sumptuous the sweetened smell was, coming from our kitchen? I think I was thinking along those lines.

"Are you baking?"

My former chagrin had been smoothed over successfully, and if I hadn't known better, I would have guessed that was his intention. Whoever told him about my cookie fixation was both very doomed, and the very lucky owner of my soul. It had been _years_ since I'd had homemade cookies…

Riku's smile grew a bit in apparent amusement. Maybe it was how easily placated I was, or maybe it was something else. Clearly, the guy's mind was impossible to figure out, with his whole 'slave' thing…

Though, maybe this was all just some sort of joke…

"Double chocolate chip cookies," Riku nodded. "Forgive me for being presumptuous, but I thought you might like them, Master Sora."

"Just Sora," I corrected without even thinking, craning my neck in an attempt to see into the kitchen. "When will they be done? Can I have one?"

"They _are_ for you, Master Sora."

This caught me off guard a bit. Somehow, that thought hadn't occurred to me – I had already been working myself up into a puppy-eyed begging spree. What did he mean, they were mine?

'_Remember, Sora? Slave. Totally at your disposal to give you anything you want.'_

Ah. Right.

'_Like in your daydream!'_

Not right!

"I – I'm really – uh, thank you," my voice was at least an octave higher, embarrassingly girlish. Were it not for the fact that certain images flashing through my mind were causing the according bodily reactions, I would have been questioning my masculinity.

At least Riku was watching my face, and not anywhere lower.

I seriously needed to get my hormones under control…because obviously, it was just hormones. I was in no way actually, physically _attracted_ to Riku…with his gorgeous hair and piercing aqua eyes and smooth handsome features.

Nothing appealing about any of that at all.

Luckily, the stomach always seemed to take precedence over every other part of my body. "Um…when are they ready?"

"About ten minutes, they only just went in the oven, Master Sora," Riku dutifully answered without missing a beat.

I'd noticed something. He ended absolutely everything he said with 'Master Sora'. While I was still very opposed to this whole slave thing, and very new to the idea of owning a _person_, I had to wonder if that was normal.

Then the rational part of my brain remembered that nothing about this was normal, anyway.

"Um…okay," I shifted a bit, picking my bag up off the ground – I didn't actually remember dropping it, but I figured that had likely occurred during my spell of utter shock and worrying that I was in the wrong apartment. "I'll just…get started on my homework, okay? Can you let me know when they're ready?"

"Of course. If you need anything at all, my wish is your command, Master Sora."

Reflexively, my cheeks burned crimson, and I hastened to take a seat on the very-clean couch. It even felt cleaner…

Weird.

Unzipping the bag with deliberate slowness, I withdrew the only article. World Issues homework.

Strangely, I'd been assigned a double load of work to take home and have, finished and preferably correct, by tomorrow. I couldn't imagine why that was. Part of me wondered if he was honestly expecting it back with answers, and not dripping with drying white stains.

Wow, that was a vulgar thought. Really, though, I must have seemed like such a pervert…and while I wouldn't blame him for thinking that, especially if he could have heard that last though of mine (sardonic or not, it was still pretty perverse) I wasn't totally comfortable with the idea. I mean, this was my teacher.

I hadn't even started thinking about what my classmates must have thought. That would bring on a whole new wave of embarrassment. News always spread like wildfire around our school…and not to sound at all full of myself, but I was pretty well known around the school. All of the members of our little group were – we were both exclusive, popular, and outcasts all rolled into one.

Thus, we were apparently fascinating.

And thus…more than likely, I'd be screwed over by the rumour mill by tomorrow afternoon, at the latest. If I was lucky, Kairi wouldn't be at the head of the group projecting a slideshow presentation of my little episode.

…To interject again, and I _know_ I do it far too often, 'little' isn't the best word for me to have used. It wasn't a 'little episode', in that I'm not -…well, that is to say…I mean, I have my male pride. I'm as much of a guy as anyone else. I'm not trying to build myself up, I'm just defending what I have, and the adjective 'little' doesn't apply. Just, the occurrence was…minimal. Lacking importance. It wasn't any kind of event or anything, that was what I meant.

All that established? Good, I can digress again.

I _think_ I can get myself back on track, sure, but…I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking about in the first place. Once my mind wanders to a different topic, it's hard to remind myself of what I was supposed to be thinking about…

Cookies, maybe? Yes, likely cookies. Since I could smell them, and they were just so succulently tantalising in their glorious rich scent…

Oh. No, I was supposed to be thinking about my World Issues homework.

Damn Riku for distracting me.

'_Wait, wait, wait – no, damn Riku's __**baking**__. Yes.'_

What was with World Issues triggering thoughts of him, anyway? Honest, it was a genuinely interesting class. Covered all bases. Dash of politics sprinkled with economics, environmental icing and sociology on top.

_Damn_, I wanted those cookies.

But there was no legitimate reason for my incessant distraction. Especially when it was so…focused. Very, _very_ rarely did my thoughts regularly spin back in the direction of any one thing. Even if that 'one thing' had gorgeous hair, that actually shimmered in the light; come on, who _actually_ had hair that _shimmered?_ The way they did commercials? Or if that 'one thing' had flawless, chiselled features. Or muscled, toned arms.

Or a collar that was somehow exceedingly distracting when matched up against his smooth throat…especially with the connotations of said collar…

"Master Sora?"

Well, ten minutes had already passed. How about that.

And my double load of World Issues had been untouched. Oops…

'_Damn it, Riku.'_

It was entirely his fault. If I hadn't been busy thinking of him the entire time and letting my mind wander over various parts of his anatomy, I bet I could have at least put a dent in the massive chunk of textbook questions.

But wait – who was I to be negative? So I hadn't done any homework. I now had cookies. Double chocolate chip cookies, their aroma almost tangible as I lifted myself off the couch and drifted over to the sound of Riku's smooth voice.

I understood at last Kairi's analogy – Riku? A kitchen god? _Yes_. Yes, he was definitely a kitchen god, looking so scrumptious.

The…scrumptious _cookies_. That was really what I meant. Not that he wasn't a good-looking guy and all, from an appreciative point of view, but-…

I hate my brain, I genuinely do. I'm going to stop thinking now, forever.

"Thanks," I murmured, suddenly rather shy, for reasons that I couldn't even quite place. Possibly because I'd been entertaining fantasies on his body just earlier that day, and reminiscing on said fantasies moments ago. Thankfully, Riku didn't comment on my random bout of coyness and let me occupy my mouth with what could only be described as an orgasm in cookie form.

Kitchen. _God_.

It took me a fraction of a second to notice at all that I'd moaned softly, muffled by the sweet chocolate. And somehow, it basically entirely escaped my notice that something changed in Riku's expression. Aquamarine eyes darkened to a slightly darker shade, his expression akin to the same one I tended to wear when someone offered me an entire cake…or when someone told Roxas they'd take over one of his shifts. Maybe a combination of the two.

The overlay to those subtle changes were…fealty, almost.

Like I said, though…I didn't notice this. Okay, register it, maybe…but not so much comprehended what it meant. I certainly wouldn't have thought anything of it, in any case, even knowing that the guy wanted to be my slave.

I nearly choked. What a stupid thing to think about when I was swallowing.

Swallowing also wasn't a good word to think much on when my mouth was full of half-chewed and delectable cookie.

The expression on Riku's face immediately changed to concern, one strong hand being placed on the small of my back. "Are you alright, Master Sora?"

Yup, still called me master after every sentence.

"F-Fine," I coughed, curling my hand into a fist in front of my mouth to keep from accidentally spewing crumbs all over Riku's pristine clothes. "J-Just swallowed too fast…"

And now the first expression was back. Again, I was a little too busy trying not to die to pay heed. Riku's hand lingered on my back, very slowly rubbing small circles in a soothing manner. Strangely, that helped a lot…

That's when the front door slammed, and a very loud voice exclaimed, "What the _fuck_."

Okay, relaxing moment gone. I jumped a bit, accidentally brushing up against Riku. Thankfully, he didn't seem to mind – he actually very helpfully supported me by shifting his arm, hand slipping down over my hips and keeping me balanced.

"What the _fuck?_"

Maybe, in hindsight, the assistance looked a little compromising. Riku looked inquiring if anything, while Roxas had gone from looking utterly bewildered to outraged. He tended to be rather protective, particularly when he thought my honour was being compromised.

Which was, of course, the furthest thing from the truth. Riku was just my slave. That relationship just _screamed_ 'platonic'.

'_Oh, god, I'm doomed.'_

How was I supposed to explain all this to Roxas?

'_Um, okay, don't panic – first, get away from Riku!'_

I could do that. That part was easy.

Abruptly, both arms slid between our bodies, one hand unthinkingly splaying across Riku's chest – my _god_ he was toned – and shoving. The break in proximity involuntarily sent me tumbling to the floor. The rather ungraceful topple sent a stinging sensation up from my tailbone. _Bad_ place to land.

"Uh…h-hi," I stuttered, a staggered exhalation pushing past my lips before I managed to fix a sheepish smile on my face.

Roxas's ultramarine eyes burned.

"Sora. What the _hell_ is going on?"


	4. I Don't Decide

Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything…not even these clothes. They belong to that nice man driving the white van who offered me candy! Then he was nice enough to lend me his clothes after I woke up in his apartment.

So yeah…due to the severe lack of updates, due to the severe lack of laptop and internet, I have decided to offer an appeasement of an instant fourth chapter. Please no one lynch me.

Also…please keep in mind that I love Roxas, and that there WILL eventually be AkuRoku. REMEMBER THAT.

While you're at it, remember that reviews lead to faster M rated goodness.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

My powers of perception weren't always brilliant. My ability to assess, however, was fairly sharp, and thus it didn't take me very long at all to completely grasp the situation at hand.

Roxas, my dear but not-very-understanding twin brother, had just walked into our unnaturally clean apartment to see me – his endearing and beloved younger brother – basically pressed against the stranger he'd demanded be removed this morning. Not only that, but in said stranger's free hand was a plate of double chocolate chip cookies and a leather collar was around his neck. Then said endearing brother was sent toppling to the immaculate carpet.

This situation could be even worse than my current perception, too, if he'd heard anything about my World Issues class.

If he had, then I was just flat-out doomed. I'd never live it down.

So now I was on the spot. Two sets of eyes were trained on me – a shade of sapphire identical to my own, and an entrancing shade of turquoise.

I gulped, successfully downing the remaining crumbs of cookie and wiping my mouth on the back of my hand. That freed up my ability to speak entirely…what a stupid thing for me to have done. Couldn't I have thought first and crammed a few cookies into my mouth before shoving myself away from Riku and landing hard on the floor?

"Well…"

Oh, what a brilliant start that was.

"Uh, you remember Riku?" I giggled. Yes, giggled. So painfully emasculating. "How he was, uh, kicked out of his place…?"

Inwardly, I begged him not to say anything to contradict this statement. I am a notoriously bad liar, and I hardly needed interference to make the lie even more obviously untrue.

Luckily, Riku had his university-brain and obvious common sense to tell him to keep quiet.

Roxas crossed his arms, entirely unimpressed. It was difficult to read the shift in his expression, because…well, there wasn't any change. Not visibly. I just happened to know him well enough to catch the gist of the goings-on in his mind.

Maybe there was something to be said for that whole psychic-twin thing…

"_Sora_."

Okay then, not allowed to let my errant attention span roam free. I was in trouble.

"Please, Roxas, let him stay," I begged, sliding up onto my knees and scuffing my knees on the light carpet. Which even _felt_ cleaner, by the way. Much softer, it was remarkable.

"It's not like he'll cause problems – look, he _cleaned_. And he made cookies, Roxas. _Double chocolate_. It's been ages since we've had anyone who could actually make _food_, right? We wouldn't have to have pizza every night! Not that there's anything bad about pizza, and you know how much I appreciate that you keep that job so that we can get the discount, but he _cooks_, Roxas! And he can take my room, I'll sleep on the couch, just until he finds a new place to stay – you won't even know he's here! Well, except that things will be cleaner and we'll have food and stuff, but other than _that_ -…"

"Sora, will you shut the hell up?"

Roxas also happened to be highly intolerant of rambling.

There was a look of mild surprise on Riku's face, which I understood just after I lapsed into silence. Even I was surprised, really, that I was so vehemently and desperately fighting for his right to stay…especially when I was so opposed to his being my…unpaid servant.

It wasn't like I was won over or anything – it took more than cookies to convince me to hang up my morals. It was just…

Riku had given up his apartment. And I wasn't entirely sure he'd _go_ anywhere else, if he was kicked out. After what he'd already done, and his constant referral to me as 'Master Sora', it sort of seemed like he wouldn't be willing to just…pick up his stuff and go.

I wasn't willing to send out a person into the streets. Especially someone who could bake.

'_That doesn't mean he's my slave though. He can be…a guest.'_

" – use your head at _all?_"

Oh right, Roxas was lecturing.

"Our landlord would jack up the rent if we even had a pet hamster. We can't let this guy stay, we can't _afford_ it! Do you have any idea how much overtime I'm already working to take care of utilities alone? Electricity, heat, water, cable, internet? We're going to be lucky if I make enough to pay for this month's rent, and do you have any idea what they'll _do_ to us if we can't pay?"

Didn't anyone else find it odd how I wasn't allowed to bluster on, but Roxas was allowed a tirade whenever he got into the swing of it?

"We'll get kicked out. Then there won't be a place for this guy to be leeching off of in the first place."

I also wasn't sure how to react to being yelled at for our monetary issues when I'd been expressly forbidden from getting a job. I was totally willing to get one. I just needed to…pull my marks up a little first, sure…

Okay, so it was also kind of my fault that it cost so much to feed us. I ate at least twice as much as Roxas did on the average day…on a bad day, maybe about…three times as much.

"Sora, are you even listening to a word I'm saying?"

"Of course," I responded immediately, parroting back the gist of what he'd last nearly-hollered at me. "We'll be kicked out if the landlord finds out we're keeping Riku."

This gained me a strange look, and almost instantly I wondered what the hell I had just said. I basically just indirectly referred to Riku as…sort of a pet. That didn't sound right at all.

Damn it, this was all Riku's fault for looking so…submissive!

"Sora, he's not a stray cat." Roxas seemed to twitch slightly. "Not something you can _keep_, though while I'm on the subject, what the fuck is with the collar?"

Oh, great. Now he was talking directly to Riku. Could he do that? I mean, was it allowed?

Damn it, brain, stop accepting this idea of possessing a person!

Riku, to his credit, remained utterly unfazed. "Accessory."

Maybe it wasn't the best answer, but it certainly sounded legitimate. Absently, I noted that Riku was a far better liar than I could ever hope to be. The only reason it wasn't the 'best' was because Roxas basically hated everything…girly. On guys, anyway.

Another opportunity for interjection. A required intermission, this time, because Roxas is a very difficult person to understand without a proper guide. Even I have trouble sometimes, and _I'm_ the guide. There aren't exactly brochures outlining the way my twin's mind functions…but to my point…

Roxas is a tad intolerant. He's harsh, a bit. And he doesn't like things going against…the way he thinks they should be.

He's not homophobic. I swear, he isn't.

The thing was, Roxas didn't like guys being effeminate, or girls being masculine. He doesn't like people acting…outside of his classifications. Sure, to some that makes him…a jerk. A really terrible jerk. But, see, not everyone has…_been_ through what Roxas has, so they can't quite understand. Roxas just doesn't like the unexpected. Thus, he started being very…decisive in the way he saw things.

It was our parents' fault. He would have been different if _they_ had been different. If life had been different.

Okay…interjection over. I just wanted it understood why, exactly, Roxas's eyes narrowed in utter distaste at Riku calling it an 'accessory'.

"An accessory," he snorted. "It's a bit…shameless. Makes you look like some kind of man-whore, and I'm not comfortable with having a slut in my apartment. Especially one who was all over my brother."

And now Roxas had degenerated to verbal attacks. He tended to regress to that upon meeting people he didn't have a good first impression of…and when rent was compromised, that just made it so much worse. Painfully worse.

I winced, but Riku didn't show any visible reaction. He just shrugged.

"I think you took him by surprise, so I was just trying to keep him from falling over," Riku explained with absolute innocence. I was just thankful he wasn't referring to me as his master in front of my twin.

"That was effective," Roxas drawled, tone dry.

"In his defence, I kind of shoved myself to the floor," I piped up weakly.

Riku kept quiet and didn't gesture again. Absently, I had to wonder if he only spoke when spoken to…or when asked to. I'd asked for a notice concerning the cookies, and that was about it…

Roxas had crossed and uncrossed his arms several times within the past few seconds, probably torn between his automatic and unfair dislike of Riku, and his own set of strong morals.

"I'm not taking this to the landlord," he spat, very obviously disgruntled. That probably should have distressed me – the filial bonds were strong and all – but this probably meant I'd won my fight.

I do like winning.

"If anyone finds out about this, he's out. That, or paying his own damn rent. He pays for his own food, his own utilities – I'm not supporting a complete stranger on my pathetic paycheque."

"His name's Riku," I shuffled closer to my blonde brother and latched onto him – I pretty much only managed to reach to his waist, since I was on my knees, but the thought was clearly there. "I told you that, right?"

I didn't _see_ Roxas twitch, but I'm pretty sure he did. "Sora, this is an awkward position -…"

"Thank you so much, Roxas, I swear everything will be really good – you should try one of the cookies, they're _so good_…"

Obligingly at the mention of the cookies, Riku set down the plate on the close by coffee table. Immediately, one of my hands snaked out to grab one, and it was reverently crammed it in my mouth.

The guy had to be psychic.

Roxas was still twitching. Even a mouthful of _orgasmic_ double chocolate cookie couldn't divert my attention away from my brother.

Okay, well, actually…he was an afterthought…

"Sora. Remove yourself, would you?"

Roxas never was a very touchy-feely person. I could also see his point, in very far hindsight, how he might be less than comfortable with my forehead buried close to his…special area.

We're just brothers, but whenever I act less than perfectly carefree and boyish, Roxas gets annoyed. Or makes fun of me, if he's in a good mood.

I fell backwards and got to my feet with a bit of difficulty, and my twin spun around to storm off in a bout of irate angst. He just did that whenever I got my way.

"Thank you, Master Sora."

Riku's voice was lowered, deliberately avoiding having Roxas overhear, which I appreciated. That basically would have tipped the tides completely, and then Riku would have been kicked out of our apartment faster than I could say 'I swear he's not my slave.'

"Just Sora," I whispered back immediately. "And I mean – it's not like I'd just…make you leave, or anything…and th-thanks, for the cookies."

To my immense embarrassment, Riku bowed his head. "No need for thanks, Master Sora. They were made for you."

Immediately a crimson flush heated my face up. It felt a bit like someone had set my cheeks aflame, which wasn't a comfortable sensation. I think it was the 'master' that did it to me…or possibly just the fact that he'd made something specifically for me.

Slave. He was my…slave.

'_No, no, no…'_

I was losing my mind.

"Y-You can talk to your roommate," I managed to reduce my stammering to only the first fraction of my sentence. Truly an accomplishment. "Maybe he'll take you back…but, I mean, if he doesn't…I could always help you. Maybe there'll even be some apartments opening up in this building, huh?"

Do you know how embarrassing it is when your nervous laugh sounds a lot like the giggle of schoolgirl?

My less-than-manly chortle wasn't what Riku focused on, luckily. Instead, he seemed discontented.

"Master Sora, I will carry out any of your wishes," he said seriously, and suddenly I was very hot. My hands were warm, caught within Riku's, and I was…blushing. A lot. "If you want me to leave, I will. But _I_ want to stay, Master Sora."

…Now, how was I supposed to argue this?

And, wow, Riku was really close. I wanted to look away; his eyes were _smouldering_. He looked so intense, silver bangs falling like a thin, translucent veil over his eyes, stray tresses brushing past his shoulders silkily…

Which made me really want to touch his hair. …Just to see if it was really that soft.

Appreciation, just appreciation, I _swear_.

"Ah-hug-um."

That incomprehensible sputtering was simply an expression of said appreciation, too. Really, he was _very_ good-looking, from an objective standpoint, and it was difficult to articulate that level of handsomeness.

I coughed excessively and tried to regain my bearings. Like I ever had them in the first place.

"I d-don't want you to l-leave."

Yes, that was _so_ much more articulate.

"I mean, I have nothing against you staying here," there was definite anxiety in my voice, now. "As a guest, and all, I mean. I mean, I guess you can stay as long as you want to, but – why a _slave?_"

Yes, the definite lack of understanding was starting to drive me insane.

Riku seemed surprised, but then he smiled. He had a good smile.

"Do you mean…why _your_ slave, Master Sora?"

Ooh, he was good. He'd touched on my next question…'why me'. Maybe he really _was_ psychic.

Oh, god, if he was, did that mean he'd heard my earlier…recollections? What if he knew I'd had a wet dream about him? While I was _awake?_ What if he knew every time I phased out and stared at his pretty hair or pretty eyes or -…

"Master Sora?"

People were going to start questioning my sanity if I didn't stop spacing out when I was supposed to be answering them. The entire situation was making my already random train of thought even worse. Amplified, if you will. It was like being drunk.

Not that I've _been_ drunk. Alcohol just made the sober mind…excessive. Like putting emotions under a magnifying glass. That was what I meant.

Train of thought, you're derailing again…

"I mean…I guess…I don't get it." My voice grew humiliatingly high and child-like, as it tended to do when I got hopelessly lost in what was going on. It was a bit like math class, only a lot better to look at and even more complex. "You had everything, so why would you-…"

I was very effectively silenced by a fingertip over my lips.

"Master Sora. I request as a human being, not even as a possession, that you just respect my decision," Riku proposed, still utterly stern. "This will be my only request as a person. I want to belong to you, and I want you to make full use of that."

Like in my daydream? Did 'full use' extend that far?

'_I'm not __**that**__ appreciative!'_

"As for…why _you_," Riku's voice lowered further – why he did so was beyond me, I was positive Roxas was out of earshot – "I couldn't possibly imagine a better master to have. It has to be you, Master Sora."

My cheeks managed to reclassify red. It reached a shade so far unknown to humankind.

"Will you allow it?" Wow, his voice sure was husky when he whispered like that. "Will you let me be your slave…?"

It occurred to me that this was the first time anyone had actually _consulted_ me on this unlawful and immoral matter. What shocked me more was that I was nearly inclined to let the word 'yes' trip off my tongue.

Obviously, I was going to say no. It was only _right_.

Surely I was going to say it any moment now. Turn him away as a sla-…unpaid servant, and accept him with open arms as a guest. That was what I was going to do.

Any second now, I'd say so.

"…C-Can I think about this?"

That wasn't a 'no'.

Riku smiled then, pearly and perfect white teeth flashing in his satisfied smirk. "Of course, Master Sora."

My heart was already sinking under the weight the law was putting on me. I had a distinct feeling that Riku had just won.


End file.
